I.D. EV to launch in 2020, with full autonomy arriving a few years later

The Volkswagen I.D. concept electric car on the floor of the 2016 Paris motor show.

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The Volkswagen I.D. concept electric car on the floor of the 2016 Paris motor show.

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Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

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Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

Share

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

Share

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

Share

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

Share

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen I.D. concept promises a range of nearly 375 miles by 2020 and an autonomous drive mode by 2025; the concept is part of the German automaker's big push into electric vehicles.

According to Volkswagen, the all-electric I.D. concept rolling out at the 2016 Paris motor show portends many Big Things. Try on for size 250 to roughly 375 miles of range, to begin with, when the car arrives in production form in -- according to the automaker -- 2020.

And speaking of size, the I.D. packs midsize car-like space into a Golf-esque footprint thanks to the so-called "Open Space" spatial experience (we think that translates to "interior design"). Turns out there's a lot more room for humans and their belongings when you don't have to carve out a bunch of room for a fuel-burning engine. We'll note that the I.D.'s 125-kW motor is a little smaller than the 150-kW model on the upcoming Chevrolet Bolt (which only gets a 238-mile range but will arrive much sooner), but this seems just fine for Euro city driving.

Then there's the fully autonomous drive mode, dubbed I.D. Pilot, which will be ready for mass-market adoption by 2025. When in use, the car's steering wheel retracts into the dashboard (just like on BMW's far-out concept car from earlier this year), and it'll be able to pick up packages for its owners while they're busy doing other futurey stuff.

Oh, and there will be a million of 'em (or other electric VWs riding on the I.D.'s Modular Electric Drive architecture) on the road by 2025, with or without drivers at their wheels.

All of this presents what we'd call an extended timetable, and to be fair, it's going to be impossible to actually hold VW to any of these dates; there's simply too much that could change, for better or for worse, between now and then. But as far as concepts go, the I.D. is a bit unusual in that it both makes a lot of huge predictions -- and then attaches some sort of timeframe to them.

A cynic might say this is little more than a ploy to draw eyes away from the diesel emissions scandal, but VW clearly has the industrial might to roll out EVs en masse should it commit to electrification. And while the I.D. has its share of wild conceptual flourishes, including that autonomous drive mode, it seems like an awfully achievable first step toward an electrified future.

We'll bring you updates from the Paris motor show floor when they become available.